RICK METHOT: Protect your pal this season

“Clancy” was born to run, much to the exasperation of his owner who bought into the “Brittanys hunt close” sales pitch when buying the pup.

Normally they do, unlike far-ranging long-legged bird dogs such as German Shorthairs, some pointers and setters.

But probably many sports who believe hunting birds or rabbits without a dog is not worth the time and effort have had a lost dog at one time or another.

It is a heart-wrenching experience, a sick feeling in the pit of the stomach and depressing to a degree that those who hunt without a dog have absolutely no idea as to the relationship.

Maybe the dog was just missing in action for a brief period, or worse — overnight when you had to leave the field or woods without him or her.

It happens, also to non-hunting family pets.

Decades ago when we were first married, we had a $10 mutt from the local pet shop and named him “Schaefer” after the popular, and inexpensive, beer at the time we could afford with a first apartment.

“Schaefer” was a wanderer by nature and the most troubling experience was when we took him to Vermont, circa 1970-something, to visit my parents at a lake camp. He vanished the night before we had to drive back to New Jersey. My wife and I were 20-somethings just starting new jobs, yet we debated chucking all that to look for our family mutt.

That my parents were on the scene and we left an old flannel shirt with my scent at the last spot we saw him gave us some hope.

He turned up at a camp on the other side of the lake; my folks picked him up and on a visit to relatives in Pennsylvania returned him to us.

Meanwhile, two recent events in my Hopewell Township neck of the woods brought the prospect of losing a valued and loved dog this hunting season to mind.

There were two animals lost in two days and I was privy to the action on both. Two lost dogs in that many days have about the same odds as the Mets winning two games in a row.

The first was when I was up atop Washington Crossing State Park with “Charlie” the new Brit, training him with the whistle and retrieving dummy. A young lady came out of a nearby horse trail leading two dogs on leashes. She should have been leading three.

One was missing and did I see it? Nope, but I drove all through the park without spotting the critter she described and then reported it to park headquarters. It was later found wandering down Church Road and returned safely.

The next day I spotted a confused pup on my own street, an unfamiliar dog in a small neighborhood where I know all the pets, most by name.

It was a lovable lug ball of fur and came eagerly to me. It had a collar, but no license or ID. It eagerly jumped into my truck and I took it down to the police station and asked if anybody reported a missing canine. Nobody had.

The cops called down to our ever reliable and most helpful animal control officer, Belinda Ogitis, who came up from her downstairs office and readily took the pup into her care.

I said there was no ID on the dog and she said perhaps there was a microchip imbedded on the animal. “That’s the first thing we check for if there is no license or name tag,” she said. Like most vets, shelters and critter control people, they all have portable scanners to detect such a device and learn the owner’s contact info.

A few hours later a neighborhood youngster came to my door and asked if I’d seen the dog pictured on his cell phone. I said, “yep” and told him his pet could be found down at Belinda’s office. The boy was one happy kid.

The next day I took Charlie to West Trenton Animal Hospital and had a microchip imbedded in him. He already has a tattoo from the breeder.

No guarantees it will protect him from lowlife dog thieves, but it makes it harder for them to get away with it.

Hunting dogs, other than the emotional attachment, can be well into a four-figure investment, not counting training hours. Make sure your partner and pal has all the ID possible.

STUFF TO DOThe free Outdoor Expo at Colliers Mills WMA continues until 5 p.m. today. Bow season is on as is early Canada goose season.